This is a detailed information on how to create a Windows 11 Virtual Machine.
Windows 11 is currently the Latest release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. Windows 11 Virtual Machine is unique and flexible thus allowing you create and utilize your own preferred environment to suit your needs without altering your Primary Operating System or Hardware.
To create a Windows 11 Virtual Machine on Microsoft Azure, you must first have an Azure Subscription. Click here to create a Microsoft Azure account if you don't have one.
Kindly follow the Steps below to Create your Windows 11 Virtual Machine.
SIGN IN TO YOUR AZURE PORTAL: Sign into Azure Portal with your Email and Password
TYPE "Virtual Machine" in the search bar and Select "Virtual Machine" from the list of resources that showed up
Click on the "Create" button
From the dropdown menu select the Virtual Machine as highlighted in the picture below
The "Basic" Page will open
PROJECT DETAILS
Under the Project detail section, we have Subscription and Resource group.
Subscription: this simply means a membership mode that grants you access to or enables you use Microsoft Azure services & tools according to the subscription plan. Microsoft Azure subscription is similar to some digital subscription patterns and plans e.g Your Internet Service Provider Subscription Plans. Subscribing to Azure will enable you obtain access to various services and resources that is available under Azure, however the degree to which you can use these services and resources depends on your subscription plan. Azure also offers a free/ trial period one month, giving you an ample opportunity to explore and utilize some resource in the Azure Cloud environment.
*****On a free/trial subscription, the Subscription is set to "Azure Subscription 1" by default
Resource Group: this is like a container or vessel that holds similar or related resources like Virtual Machine and databases in Azure Cloud Environment. For example in a Library where you have a lot of different types of books kept in different shelves, you might want to arrange and keep related books in separate shelves according to the type or subject of the Book e.g Science, Psychology, and Business. In this case, the Library represents your Azure Cloud Environment, The Shelves represents the Resource Group and the resources are the books.
- You will have to click on "Create New" and give your resource group a name if you don't have any existing resource group
INSTANCE DETAILS
Under instance section, You will have to;
Give your Virtual Machine a name
Under Region, click on the dropdown icon and select from the list the desired region you would like your Virtual Machine to be.
Region refers to a specific geographical location where physical data centers that host infrastructure and services are situated. All regions operates independently and is configured to be self-contained with its own set of resources and infrastructure.
In Microsoft Azure, a region can consist of three availability zones, Known as Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3. Each Zone has one or more data centers that are kilometers away from each other.
The various data centers are with independent Power, networking, configuration and cooling infrastructure to avoid and minimize the impact of failures and disruptions. Fiber optic technology allows onward high-speed data transmission over long distances while maintaining low latency and high bandwidth capabilities. The Fibre Optic Cable physically links this data centers.
Under Availability Option, click on the dropdown icon and select Availability Zone
Under Availability Zone, click on the dropdown icon and select the Zone you would like your Virtual Machine to be.
- Select your Security Type as shown below
In the Image section, Select Windows 11 pro from the dropdown as highlighted in the picture below
- Image in this context is an operating system. It's the infrastructural design for creating Virtual Machines or Computer systems. It has the requisite instructions and configurations needed to set up a Computer with a specific operating system as well as software.
- Select the Size of your Virtual Machine form the dropdown or click on "See all Sizes" to see the full list of sizes. (Leave the other information in its state).
ADMINISTRATIOR ACCOUNT
Give your account a Username and a Password
INBOUND PORT RULES
Under the Inbound Port Rules section,
Select "Allow selected Ports" and
then select "RDP(3389)" from the dropdown list under Select inbound ports. (This port will give you remote access to your physical work desktop computers.)
Click on the small box under Licensing, and the click on "Next:Disks>"
DISK
Under OS disk type, select "Standard SSD" or any other disk type you want as shown below. Leave all other columns in default.
Skip and Leave these pages in default; Networking, Management, Monitoring and Advanced and click on Tag page.
TAG
Tags are used to label and arrange resources in cloud computing environments. The purpose of tags is to provide metadata or additional information that helps in managing, organizing, and tracking resources within a cloud infrastructure.
Give your Tag a name and click on "Review+Create"
Review the summary of your virtual machine configuration and click on the "Create" button to begin the deployment process.
- Once deployment is complete, Click on "Go to resource".
CONNECT TO YOUR WINDOWS 11 VIRTUAL MACHINE
Initiate a remote desktop connection to the virtual machine. The directions below will guide you on how to connect to your Windows 11 operating system.
- On the overview page of your virtual machine, click on "Connect".
Connect with RDP, leave the default settings and click on the "Download RDP file" button to download to your file
Locate and open the Downloaded RDP file on your computer, and then click "Connect"
Type in your Username and Password
Click "yes" to prompt
You should be connected to your Windows 11 Virtual Machine now. Congratulations
HOW TO DISASSOCIATE IP ADDRESS
Occasions may arise where you would need to save cost running your virtual machine or other reasons. One way to optimize cost is to disassociate your IP address from your virtual machine.
Here are the steps;
Click on your IP address on the Overview page of your Virtual Machine as shown below
Click on "Overview"
Click on "Dissociate"
You will be asked to confirm the dissociation, click "Yes'. Once you click yes, your IP address will be dissociated from your Virtual Machine.
I believe this step-by-step tutorial helped you create your Windows 11 virtual machine. Thank you!